Health Policy Fellowship

2018 Health Policy Fellows

In the summer of 2016, the AmeriHealth Caritas Health Policy Fellowship Program was launched at LSU Health New Orleans School of Public Health and School of Medicine. The program is open to LSU medical students who are available immediately following completion of their first year of medical school for an eight week summer fellowship in Washington DC. The program aims to provide participating medical students with opportunities for real world applied experiences in the various aspects of health policy (e. g., research, analysis, advocacy, development, and implementation). Primary goals of the program include advancing the student’s understanding and abilities for influencing and setting federal, state, and local health policy agendas with emphasis on policy issues that impeded the improvement of quality, reduce cost, and eliminate disparities.

Policy is considered one of the cornerstones of public health. It is in fact universally acknowledged as a core function and essential service of the public health system. While health spending is dominated by payments for medical treatment, many conditions that drive medical care cost are in fact preventable. Research has shown that environmental prevention initiatives (defined as policies targeting environmental changes such as laws targeting smoking, immunizations, seat belts, and menu labeling) are in fact more cost-effective when compared to person-directed prevention interventions. Given this demonstration for the value of health policy, students with advanced experiences in policy development, analysis, and implementation should be better equipped with the leadership skills needed for advancing health system change while also enhancing their academic experience.

Fellowship placement sites in Washington DC have included:

Senate and House Congressional Offices

Congressional Committees

Congressional Research Service

American Public Health Association

National Academy for State Health Policy

National Hispanic Medical Association

The Health Policy Fellowship Program is funded through the generous support from AmeriHealth Caritas Louisiana. Students receive a stipend and an allowance for Metro transportation while in DC. Housing and airfare is also covered and paid directly by LSU.

Students can apply for the program by completing the application at the link below and submitting it along with a resume to: